Editorial: You've got mail

We’ll trust the mailman (or is it mailperson these days?) will deliver a letter fired off Monday from Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to the White House.

However, we are not so trusting that the president — or any of his countless taxpayer-funded staffers — will respond, at least to any significant degree.

Fallin’s letter is related to the immigration crisis on the U.S. southern border.

Why does the governor of Oklahoma care? Because the federal government has shipped off hundreds — at the least — of minor illegal immigrants to Fort Sill near Lawton, Okla. And the governor has a few questions for the Obama administration.

Here are a few of those remarks and questions from Fallin’s letter (from The Daily Oklahoman). We provided a few responses that, more than likely, will not be coming from the Obama administration.

■ Fallin says “the true nature of this facility has largely been obscured to the general public.” This is accurate. Why the secrecy, and why does a member of the U.S. Congress have to do everything but submit to a drug test to tour the Fort Sill facility? (It is interesting that many oppose using the National Guard to patrol the border, but have no problem using U.S. military facilities to house illegal immigrants.)

■ The governor is concerned about reports that “more than half of the children placed with sponsors are ever expected to return with their sponsor to immigration court, and less than half will eventually be deported.” This is the problem with immigration. The federal government does little to enforce the law once immigrants enter the country illegally — a primary reason there are an estimated 11-12 million illegal immigrants in America.

■ “At least 212 of the children have been located with sponsors in Oklahoma, where they can receive state-funded education and emergency health care.” Again, this is part of the problem with immigration — the benefits of free education and free health care. Where is the money going to come to pay for these taxpayer-funded services, now and in the future? As mentioned, there is little reason to believe a large number of these illegal immigrants — children and adults — will ever return to their home countries.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry can share the same concerns with the Obama administration.